The Nation

The Farmers Home Administration will begin this week to mail notices of the possibility of foreclosure to 26,400 farmers who were delinquent on their loans by $100 or more on Dec. 31. Last year, the agency contacted 62,400 farmers, officials said. As of Jan. 1, farmers were delinquent on 30%, or $8.5 billion, of the $28.4-billion farm loan portfolio of the Agriculture Department lending agency. Last year, the agency resumed actions against delinquent borrowers at the end of a two-year moratorium on foreclosures ordered by a federal court in North Dakota.